


Black Coffee and a Smile

by iwritethingsapparently



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:09:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25990348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritethingsapparently/pseuds/iwritethingsapparently
Summary: my tumblr is under the same username
Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 69





	Black Coffee and a Smile

Regulus strolled down the street and stopped by the café that his brother, Sirius, owns as he does every day. The bells above the door chime as he walks into the large building and stands in the short line. The shop is filled with the chatter that is usually seen at a coffee shop and Regulus sees two people smiling at each other, presumably on a date, and briefly wonders what they could be talking about that the one person’s eyes are lighting up in enthusiasm. Regulus has gone on a few dates himself, even though they were arranged by his mother. She would never listen to what he had to say about how much he opposed said dates and the idea of an arranged marriage no matter how hard he pushed his views on it, so he just went along with what she wanted him to do. But he’s certain that there has to be a spark if marriage is going to be involved.

“Hi, I’m James what can I get for you today?” The barista, James, smiled so brightly that Regulus thought that it would blind him.

“Can I just get a black coffee please?”

“Of course! Can I get your name?” James asked with a certain softness to his voice that was barely noticeable but was there nonetheless.

“It’s Regulus” 

“I’ll call you up when it’s ready”

“Thanks”

Regulus thought to himself that this James person was quite handsome and that he should ask Sirius about him, but that could wait until later. He had let his mind wander for god knows how long when James called his name and he went up to collect his coffee.

“Here you go,” 

“Thank you so much,” Regulus smiled in a way that he hoped didn’t reveal how smitten he was with the new barista. He was about to take a sip of his coffee when he saw a phone number and writing that said ‘Call me some time’ He had gotten to the door and heard Sirius’ voice in the background talking to someone, but he couldn’t care less with the happiness flowing through his body. He had enough energy that he probably didn’t even need the coffee, but he was going to drink it anyway.

∞∞∞∞∞

“I can’t believe that you got Regulus to smile,” Sirius complained to James with a pout in place, “not even I can do that and he’s my brother! Why can’t I do that?!” 

“Well, maybe it’s just because you’re his brother and also quite annoying at times.”

“It wasn’t that,” 

“Then what was it?”

“He is quite clearly smitten with you, James,”

James was confused at Sirius’ statement, “I don’t think so. It was just a smile.”

“Prongs,” he shifted and sighed, tired, “I can read Reg like a book because I’ve always had to. His eyes give away how he’s feeling under the mask he tends to put up. Him, being the hopeless romantic he is, is probably so gone into the spiral of love already. He doesn’t smile at people unless he thinks that they’re special in some way James.”

“I guess I’m lucky that I gave him my number then,” James mused under his breath, but just loud enough that Sirius could hear what he had said.

“Just don’t hurt him or you’ll be dead within the week alright?”

“Yep, I understand”

∞∞∞∞∞

The threat did little to deter James but he still decided to proceed with caution when it came to Regulus. He had called earlier to invite James over to watch some movies, and he gladly accepted the offer. He had spent the last hour trying to figure out what to wear and finally decided on something comfy, but not terrible looking. He wants Regulus to know that he cares and didn’t just throw something on without looking at what it was. James left his house and started walking to Regulus’, which wasn’t very far from where he lived. He knocked on the door and all of the nerves that he’d tried to repress came bubbling to the surface. But before he could overthink and probably have an anxiety attack, Regulus opened the door.

“James!” Regulus beamed at him like this was the best thing to ever happen to him, “Come in! I’m sorry about the mess, I don’t have guests around often and I got as much cleaning done as I could before you got here. You can pick the movie if you’d like,” the last part was said in a much quieter tone than the rest of what he said.

“Sure, I’ll pick the movie.”

“Great.”

Regulus opened Netflix on his computer and James browsed the movies for a while before choosing “Matilda”

“Why Matilda?” Regulus questioned in a soft voice.

“Because I think it has a really good plot”

“Mmhmm that makes sense”

∞∞∞∞∞

About 6 months later Regulus walks into the café that his brother owns, the bells above the door jingling as he walks through. He moved to stand in the short line and let his mind wander until he was at the front of the line.

“Hey, Reggie! The usual?”

“Yeah. Thank you, James.”

And as Regulus’ name was called, he walked over, kissed James on the cheek, and smiled softly.

“Thank you, love.”

“Of course darling. I’ll see you at home?”

“Yeah. I love you.”

“I love you too”

And as Regulus walked out of the café, he felt happier than he had ever felt in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is under the same username


End file.
